Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $287.27, but opened at $315.00. Boston Beer shares last traded at $300.83, with a volume of 57,772 shares.

The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $426.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $414.18 million. Boston Beer had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 8.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $350.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Boston Beer in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Boston Beer from $390.00 to $355.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Boston Beer from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $335.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Boston Beer from $257.00 to $250.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $335.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boston Beer news, insider Carolyn L. O’boyle sold 101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total transaction of $30,652.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,231.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Carolyn L. O’boyle sold 101 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.49, for a total value of $30,652.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,133,231.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Carolyn L. O’boyle sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.72, for a total transaction of $35,773.44. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,630 shares in the company, valued at $922,393.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Beer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boston Beer by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 918,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,425,000 after buying an additional 21,060 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Boston Beer by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 142,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,080,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Boston Beer by 65.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 115,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,433,000 after acquiring an additional 45,864 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boston Beer by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 107,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Boston Beer by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 70,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,393,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.13% of the company’s stock.

Boston Beer Trading Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $333.63.

Boston Beer Company Profile

The Boston Beer Company, Inc produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. The company's flagship beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It offers various beers, hard ciders, flavored malt beverages, and hard seltzers under the Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Truly, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head, Angel City, and Coney Island brand names.